Londoners in the West End who saw a wild-eyed, erratic chap dart­ing around like a man possessed this week can rest easy.

For a maniac was not on the loose — it was just the giant ball of enthusiasm that is Quentin Tarantino pounding the streets in search of inspiration for his latest movie.

Quentin Tarantino goes a bit loco in Soho

The director was spotted talking loudly to himself as he wandered around Soho, eventually sitting at a table in The Glassblower pub near Piccadilly Circus.

But Londoners, being as they are, must have averted their eyes at the first sign of a potential nutjob, as Quentin says no-one recognised him on his little day out.

Well, not quite. One eagle-eyed punter at The Glassblower who did eventually clock who he was told us: “We just noticed a scruffy American guy sitting on his own in a corner drink­ing a pint of bitter, eating fish and chips and talking loudly to himself in different voices.”

But speaking last night at the Leicester Square pre­miere of his new movie Inglourious Basterds (and gloriously misusing the phrase “hoi polloi”, bless him), Quentin told us he was in fact working on a new script.

He said: “I try to get into a little hoi polloi from time to time.

“Actually, a couple of days ago it was my day off. I walked all around Piccadilly Circus and Soho and everything.

“I went to the movies — I saw Bruno — and I walked around the shops. I did some writing in a pub.”

He was joined on the red carpet by the movie’s star Diane Kruger and singer Rihanna, whose quiff was in a different postcode.

Quentin also revealed he had wanted to direct Pierce Brosnan as Bond in Casino Royale, and would still like to direct a 007 movie.

He added: “I said I wanted to do Casino Royale, they said it was unfilmable… I would have done it with Pierce Brosnan.”